Skin Deep
by luvscharlie
Summary: Hermione loves nothing more than the chance to explore Charlie's body.


_Skin Deep_ by Luvscharlie

Charlie and Hermione lay together in his bed, arms and legs intertwined after an afternoon interlude. Their relationship was still new and each episode of passion brought about exploration. Hermione loved his tattoos. She found them to be extremely sexy, and she had waited for the moment when she could explore them thoroughly. That time was upon her.

"You know, Charlie, I've wanted to look at these, _up close_, for a while," Hermione said, tracing her finger across the dragon tattoo that curled around his shoulder. The tattoo snorted puffs of smoke and glared resentfully at being awakened from its slumber.

"I'm not really surprised. You do enjoy studying." Charlie grinned. "Can't say I really mind it when it's me you're studying though. Look… and touch—by all means touch, all you want."

Braving the dragon's further anger, Hermione stroked it again causing Charlie to shiver. "What kind of dragon is this?"

Charlie squinted over at her and raised an eyebrow. "You mean there's something you don't know? Not an expert at identifying dragons, then? I'm shocked. There's something Miss Know-It-All doesn't know… finally. I was beginning to suspect that I'd never find a subject in which you weren't the expert. It's a Hungarian Horntail. You can see the horns on his tail now, since you've gone and irritated him." Charlie used his finger to point out the sharp spikes on the dragon's tail.

"Is it my fault that your tattoos are prone to tantrums? Were it the Muggle sort, you wouldn't have to worry about it turning its back all the time. Have you considered getting a Muggle tattoo to go along with the ones that you've had magicked on?"

Charlie's eyes grew large and his skin paled considerably when he shuddered. "Not on your life! Do you know those mental Muggles put on their tattoos with _needles_? I reckon they're insane."

Hermione laughed at him. Big, brawny dragon keeper covered in muscles, but terrified of needles. He was quite a remarkable man. He always kept her guessing, and never failed to surprise her. It was only one of the many things she loved about him. She was so lost in her own adoration that she didn't hear his next words until he repeated them.

"_I said_ I find it hard to believe that you didn't recognise such a common type of dragon." He was grinning up at her, as her finger continued to trail over the angry tattoo. The dragon was trying unsuccessfully to get way from the spot on his body to which it was confined, thrashing its tail about in protest when it was unable to do so.

Hermione grinned back at him. "Oh, I knew what kind of dragon it was all along. I just like to hear you say it. Did you know you drop your R's when you're relaxed? It's really rather adorable."

"Yes, well, I am adorable as a general rule." Charlie smiled smugly then stretched and folded his hands behind the back of his head.

Leaning over him, her breast skimmed his thigh, Hermione licked across the ink on his stomach. "And this one?"

Charlie's breath hitched and he stuttered, "Wel-Welsh Green."

Her tongue flicked into his navel, then trailed down the dragon's tail that curled around his hip. "Never thought I'd find tattoos so sexy. Especially ones that don't like me very much." As she said it, the Welsh Green shot a stream of warm fire across Charlie's abdomen in clear protest of her attention. It was as temperamental as the tattoo on his shoulder.

"That tickles," Charlie said as his stomach muscles contracted and he tried to maintain some semblance of control. "You—you like them then? The tattoos?"

"Better than they like me." Hermione threw a leg over, straddling his waist. "I love them. Of course, there's not much about your body—or you, for that matter—that I don't love." Her fingernails scratched across his chest. "Are you ready for me to show you how much… again?"

Charlie attempted to answer, but his words came out as a choked sounding cough.

Hermione tightened her thighs around him for balance and leaned forward, her teeth biting at his lower lip. She kissed him soundly, her tongue slipping past his lips to explore his mouth at leisure.

His hand twined into her hair, tugging her head back. Charlie, impatient as always, broke their kiss and rolled her to her back, taking back control as he nibbled his way up the line of her jaw, nipping her earlobe between his teeth. His breath on her skin was warm, and she shivered with pleasure when he growled playfully against her ear. "You know, it can't be healthy how much I want you all the time."

Hermione giggled. "Perhaps we should end this now then. I'd hate to damage your health and…" Her words trailed off as Charlie's lips closed over her nipple, his tongue flicking and teasing in such a way as to leave her speechless. Even her thoughts, which she normally had a good deal of control over, were jumbled and senseless as Charlie drove her forward towards release.

His hand squeezed her hip, and she gasped as his fingers ghosted a pathway across her skin until it founds its goal and parted her, teasing over her sex and making her shiver beneath him.

"Gods, Charlie," she gasped.

He rolled her nipple between his teeth, as his finger and thumb did likewise to her clit, and though she hadn't thought it possible to be so close again so fast, she teetered on the edge of ecstasy, and with each twist of his fingers she lost herself a little more.

Her breathing was laboured; her heart hammering in her chest with anticipation, and when Charlie whispered 'love you' against her skin, she let go of what control she had been clinging to, allowing her climax to explode beneath the ministrations of his talented fingers.

Charlie pulled her against him when she had grasped for purchase in the here and now. Her foggy mind had recovered itself only a little when he next spoke. "You know, I think our lunch break ended about an hour ago."

She knew it had, but the reluctance to leave Charlie's bed had taken over, and Hermione wanted nothing more than to curl deeper into the safe haven of his arms and forget the outside world existed… at least for a bit. She stroked his back, then brought her hand around to cup his face, brushing across the Horntail tattoo on his shoulder in the process. It huffed up and blew smoke rings from its nose, then turned away from her again to protest her unwanted touch.

"You know, it seems to me that if you like me, your tattoos should as well."

Charlie grinned. "Reckon you might have to do a bit of work to win them over. You can start tonight."

_A/N: This was originally written for the prompt 'Hermione loves Charlie's dragons' at the thehogwartslife community on Live Journal. _


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